''It is impossible to live in boxes'': government gives large families land plots, but forgets to connect utilities

The issue of granting land plots to large families was discussed at the meeting of the Tatarstan State Council Committee for Ecology, Nature Management, Agro-Industrial and Food Policy. It turned out that more than 50,000 large families in the region were included in the waiting lists for land plots as of 1 March. But the lucky ones who managed to build a house on the allocated land turned out to be several times less. For example, only 12 houses were built in the village of Kaymary, although more than 100 plots were allocated, and not a single one was built in Sokury. Read the details in the report of Realnoe Vremya.

Why do families have land plots but no houses?

The meeting began with the duty phrases that ''the possibility of obtaining a land plot contributes to the increase in birth rate'' and announcing the figures. According to Chairman of the Committee Takhir Khadeev, 55,688 families had the right to receive a land plot in Tatarstan as of 1 March 2019; 50,280 of them are included in the waiting lists for receiving land plots. 36,995 parcels have been registered in cadastre.

As it turned out not only from this report, but also from the following ones, the most difficult situation is with the provision of plots to families in Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny.

Alas, as it turned out later, in fact, only a few houses have been built on the allocated plots. Large families would be happy to get a new spacious housing, but, as once again recognized by officials and parliamentarians, the allocated areas are overwhelmingly not provided with engineering and road infrastructure.

Here are some figures. According to the information announced by Deputy Minister of Construction, Architecture and Housing of Tatarstan Ilshat Gimaev, the best situation is with the connection of electricity — 40,5% (13,240 plots) of the total number of allocated plots have been provided with power lines. Water supply is available on 12,8% of the plots, gas supply — on 11,2% of the plots.

The worst situation is with paved roads — only 3,5% of all plots allocated to large families are provided with them. However, dirt roads are laid to 63% of the plots. Although it turns out that the remaining 37% of land plots are not provided with any road, that is, are actually in the open field.

According to the information from Sergey Gimayev, 40,5% of the plots were provided with transmission lines, with water supply – 12,8% of the plots, with gas — 11,2% of the plots. Photo: minstroy.tatarstan.ru

Gimaev in his report ''noted with regret'' that the construction of houses on plots to large families is not conducted in Kazan, Verkhny Uslon, Zelenodolsk, Nizhnekamsk, Laishevsk districts.

''This is mainly due to that the plots are given, but there are still no networks and access roads to them. It is impossible to live in boxes,'' the deputy minister rightfully noted.

''There are a lot of questions that nullify this programme''

Representatives of large families were not even pleased with the statistics given by Takhir Khadeev and indicating that among the 14 regions of the Volga Federal District Tatarstan is the 1st by the number of land plots provided to large families. Complaints of those who came to the meeting in the State Council were reduced to one point — the impossibility to build houses on the allocated land.

The representative of Semeyny Gorodok public organization, Svetlana Avilova, outlined the problem of families in Kaymary and Sokury.

''I don't know, maybe, this issue won't be considered at all,'' she modestly noted. ''You said that on the allocated areas houses are built and called the figure for the region. As for the villages that our organization is engaged in, we have accurate data. In Kaymary there live 12 families. How many years ago were these lands allocated? My child is 8 years old, we were given this land just when he was born. But the land is unoccupied. There are so many issues that nullify this programme,'' said Avilova.

According to her, some large families have been in the waiting list for a land plot since 2014.

Representatives of large families were not even pleased with the statistics given by Takhir Khadeev and indicating that among the 14 regions of the Volga Federal District Tatarstan is the 1st by the number of land plots provided to large families. Photo: gossov.tatarstan.ru

''Pipes have been lying in the ground since 2016, but families do not have water''

Moving to the report of the representative of Sarmanovsky municipal district, someone from the audience said: ''Has our problem been solved already?'' But the remark drowned in the melody to a song, which was chosen for a short video telling about the provision of plots to large families in Sarmany.

Let's describe the content of the video in brief. 722 families received land plots on the territory of Sarmanovsky district. They are fully provided with electricity, water, street lighting, and in 2019 even gasification is to be completed. Moreover, they are provided with hospitals, shops, there is even a park. In the end, two happy mothers of the family thank the administration and confirm that they were helped to build houses.

''At least someone is glad,'' the audience exclaimed and began to applaud. Apparently, the parliamentarians hoped that the video would demonstrate that the issue with the infrastructure is being addressed. But the parents, it seems, even more felt the difference between themselves and families living in Sarmanovsky district who already have the blessings of civilization.

The complaints of those who came to the meeting in the State Council were reduced to one point— the inability to build houses on the allocated land. Photo: gossov.tatarstan.ru

In the end, the floor was once again given to representatives of large families. Coordinator of 'Large families of the Republic of Tatarstan' Ekaterina Voronkova proposed to create a separate funding programme to provide the land plots with infrastructure. As an example, she cited Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, where such experience already exists. She stressed that there should be a road map for each individual village. And she gave another example — the large family village of Podsolnukhi in Naberezhnye Chelny, which was included in the programmr Chistaya Voda (Clean water).

''But the allocated money was not enough. From 2016, the pipes have been lying in the ground but large families still have no water,'' Voronkova concluded.

Natalia Petryaeva, who received a plot in Sokury, said that her family had to pay 17,000 rubles for electricity connection. To dig a well, large families have no money — water, according to the woman, is at a depth of 100-120 m.

But the families who received plots in Bolshye Derbyshki have another problem — the administration carried out land surveying, but so that the plots for large families turned out to be in a swampy area, where construction is in principle impossible.